Embossed pile fabric



July 23, 1957 H. F. NOWlCKl EMBOSSED PILEI FABRIC Filed July 20, 1954nited States Pa 2,800,149 nrvmossnn PILE FABRIC Henry F. Nowicki,Bridgeport, Pa., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport,Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 20, 1954, Serial No.444,521

Claims. (Cl. 139-406) The present invention relates to an improvedfabric and method of making the same and has particular application topile fabrics having having an embossed surface.

Prior to the present invention, fabrics having an embossed surface wereformed by weaving varying heights of pile loops over wires which vary inheight according to the desired pattern. It has also been proposed toproduce embossed pile surfaces by simply omitting pile projections fromcertain parts of the surface. The first method, while producing asatisfactory fabric, is very expensive in that it requires a specialwire set and also entails a higher power output to withdraw the wires.The latter method, on the other hand, is very economical to performsince wires of uniform height may be used and in addition, a minimumamount of power is required to withdraw the wires from the fabric.However, the latter method does not produce the desired quality of pilesurface since the conventional method of weaving exposes the upper weftshots in the area of the pile surface wherein no pile loops are raised.The exposure of the weft shots gives the carpet a cheap and undesirablesurface appearance which is to be avoided in the manufacture of qualitypile fabrics.

With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention isto provide a pile fabric and method for producing the same in which theembossed pile surface comprises loops of uniform height in selectedareas of the fabric, the remaining areas comprising a groundwork of pileyarn lying over the upper weft shots in relaxed condition. The relaxedpile yarns efiectively cover the upper weft shots to hide the basefabric, and at the same time, provide a contrast from the pile loops inthe selected portions of the surface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method offorming an embossed pile surface in a fabric which is highly economicaland which produces a fabric having the desired luxuriant pilecharacteristics.

These and other objects of the invention and the various features anddetails of the operation thereof are more fully set forth hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a warpwise sectional view of a fabric made in accordance withthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detached elevational view of a preferred yarn used in theformation of the fabric shown in Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of theinvention.

Referring now to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a fabric comprising a basefabric having opposed chain warps 11, 11 passing over and under upperand lower weft shots 2,800,149 Patented July 23, 1957 12 and 13respectively. A stuifer warp passes intermediate the upper and lowerweft shots as shown at 14. Pile yarn P is looped between selected upperweft shots 12 as indicated at 16, and passes over the remaining upperweft shot to form a float as indicated at 17.

As shown in Fig. 3, the pile yarn P is preferably formed with a slightpucker or crimp so that it providescover for the base fabric when it isfloated over the upper weft shots, for example, as indicated at 17.. Topreserve this pucker or crimp in the pile yarn, it is threaded in theconventional loom under a minimum of tension so that it is substantiallyrelaxed when it is woven into the fabric. Thus, the relaxed float 17provides adequate coverage for the base fabric. 7

When weaving the fabric, pile wires are inserted between successiveupper weft shots and the loops 16 are raised over selected pile wires.The float 17, on the other hand, is raised over the upper weft shot butpasses under the wires disposed on opposite sides of the weft shot.Preferably, the wires are inserted with the lower weft shots in a splitshed loom, the lower weft shots being inserted in the lower shed and thewires in the upper shed. The upper weft shots are inserted in alternation with the lower weft shots, the upper weft shot being inserted inthe lower shed and nothing being inserted in the upper shed. Thus, thepile yarn P may be retained in the intermediate position to pass overthe upper weft shot 12 and under the wires to form a float. The absenceof tension in the pile yarn P retains the pucker in the yarn andprovides a soft pleasing appearance to the fabric in the areas wherethere are no pile projections.

A modified fabric is shown in Fig. 4 wherein a single chain warp 21passes alternately above and below upper and lower weft shots 22 and 23.The stuifer warp 24 passes between the upper and lower weft shots 22 and23 as indicated. The pile yarn P in this modification of the inventionis composed similarly to the pile yarn P, having a pucker or crimp. Inthis modification, the

pile yarn P is tied under alternate upper weft shots, and

the embossed pile surface is obtained by forming pile loops over theintermediate upper weft shots in a selected area of the fabric andfloating the pile yarn P over the intermediate upper weft shots in theremaining area of the fabric. This fabric exhibits the same desirablecharacteristics as the aforedescribed fabric.

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been illustratedand described, it is understood that changes and modifications may bemade thereto. For example, a single chain warp may be employed infabrics having the pile yarn tied under every weft shot or double chainwarps may be employed in fabrics having the pile yarn tied underalternate upper weft shots. In addition, double upper and lower weftshots may be employed in lieu of the single upper and lower weft shotsshown. Still other changes and modifications may be made within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A pile fabric having a plurality of weft shots, a raised pile area insaid fabric comprised of pile projections of face yarn, and a groundpile area in said fabric comprised of relaxed pile yarns floated over atleast one of said weft shots to provide maximum weftwise coverage ofsaid weft shot.

2. A fabric in accordance with claim 1 in which the relaxed pile yarn inthe ground pile area is crimped.

3. A fabric in accordance with claim 1 having a series of upper weftshots, a series of lower weft shots, a stufi'er warp between said shots,and .chain warps for binding the upper and lower weft shots and thestutfer to form a base fabric.

is one pile yarn end between each pair of chain warps.

5. The method of weaving a pile fabric which cornprises controlling aface pile yarn to form raised pile projections in predetermined areas ofa fabric, controlling said pile yarn to form ground pile areas in saidfabric, and substantially removing tension from said face pile yarn insaid ground pile areas to permit natural puckering of the yarn to covera maximum weftwise areav References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 467,633 Bollentin Jan. 26, 1892 4 Hope Oct. 28,1919 Underwood Oct, 9, 1951 Jackson Dec. 15, 1953 Dacey June 15, 1954Parlin Aug. 10, 1954 Hoeselbarth May 31, 1955.

OTHER REFERENCES The Modern Textile Dictionary (Linton), published 10 byLittle, Brown and Co. (New York), 1954, page 200.

